Rochford company fly Team Sky flag round France

LE TOUR may have wheeled through Essex in a flash last week, but there is a rather large piece of Essex still touring France with Team Sky.

A Rochford-based flag company produced an exact replica of a Team Sky jersey, measuring a whopping 21metres long and 20metres wide.

Team Sky claims the jersey, which was commissioned by them, is the largest cycling jersey flag in the world and proudly displayed it outside Leeds Town Hall, where the race began, last Saturday.

Eclipse Flags produced the giant jersey in a little over a week, with a team of eight workers stitching small sections together to create the replica.

Trevor Morgan, marketing director at the flag-making firm, said: “It’s great to see your creation on television in front of the eyes of the world.

“It’s going to be touring France with the team, so it’s one of the projects we’re most proud of.“We were approached by a third party company representing the team, they gave us the exact guidelines and colours for making the jersey, so it had to be spot on.

“By the end it weighed in at around 27 kilograms, but it’s got hooks on it so people can hold it easily.”

The company, based on Purdeys industrial estate, supplies Wembley Stadium, football clubs, car showrooms and even Southend Council with flags.